Stereoscopic TFT-LCD with wire grid polarizer affixed to internal surfaces substrates

ABSTRACT

A stereoscopic TFT-LCD with a wire grid polarizer affixed to internal surfaces substrates is provided wherein a thin film polarizing film formed by accurately processing a thin aluminum film, a polarizing film of a nano imprint lithography method that uses polymer, and a polarizing film and a liquid crystal material that form a polarizing nano material thin film by uniformly coating a polarizing nano material (TCF), wherein a second 1/2 phase retardation plate and a transparent unit are formed integrally with each other on the same plane in a chessboard shape, wherein a third polarizing region and a fourth polarizing region are formed integrally with each other on the same plane in a chessboard shape, and wherein a 1/4 phase retardation plate is disposed at a front surface of the second transparent substrate so as to produce circularly-polarized light.

CROSS REFERENCES

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 13/073,979, whichis a division of application Ser. No. 12/545,915 which is a continuationof application Ser. No. 11/160,737 which is now abandoned, and claimsforeign priority under Paris Convention to Korean Patent Application No.10-2005-0050994 filed 14 Jun. 2005, and Korean Patent Application No.10-2004-0058837 filed 27 Jul. 2004, where the entire contents areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a stereoscopic TFT-LCD (Thin FilmTransistor-Liquid Crystal Display) with a wire grid polarizer affixed tointernal surfaces substrates, which applies to a LCD device having athin polarizing film and a thin phase retardation film, capable ofdisplaying a 2D (dimension) image and a 3D (dimension) image.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2002-0041382 by Lee, entitled “Liquidcrystal shutter for 3D display device” discloses a technique capable ofremoving Moire interference phenomenon fin a display device that isdesigned to implement a 3D based on a parallax barrier.

The U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,103 of US Moxtek Inc. discloses a thinpolarizing film manufactured using a thin aluminum film.

The U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,077 of Corning Inc. discloses a technique offabricating a thin film of a wire grid with an imprint method. Inaddition, the U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,772,905 and 6,900,126 discloses a nanoimprint lithography that uses polymer. The U.S. Pat. No. 6,174,394 ofOptiva Ltd. Discloses a polarizing nano material (TCF) fabricated by atechnique related with a polarizing nano material thin film. Somecompanies including Germany Merck company sell liquid crystal material(Reactive Mesogen) related to fabrication of phase retardation film. TheU.S. Pat. No. 5,917,562 (issue date: Jun. 29, 1999) entitled“Autostereocopic display and spatial light modulator” that is one of theprior art of the present invention discloses an automatic 3D displayapparatus capable of improving an image contrast between a left eye anda right eye.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a conventional 3D display structure, andFIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 1. In the LCD device capable ofdisplaying a 2D image and a 3D image, a first polarizing film 3 isinstalled at a front side of a backlight unit 2. A first transparentsubstrate 4 is disposed at a front surface of the first polarizing film3, and a crystal liquid layer 10 filled with a liquid crystal materialis disposed between a first transparent substrate 4 and a secondtransparent substrate 11.

The second polarizing film 12 having an orthogonal 90° polarizingdirection with respect to the first polarizing film 3 is installed at afront surface of the crystal liquid layer 10. A first 1/2 phaseretardation film 21 is installed at a front surface of the secondpolarizing film 3. When a user wears polarizing glasses 25 for left andright eyes having a 90° polarizing direction difference, the user cansee a 3D image.

In the conventional LCD device capable of displaying a 3D image of FIG.1, the first 1/2 phase retardation film 21 is installed at a frontsurface of a 2D image panel. When a user wears polarizing glasses 25 andsees a 3D image, a viewing angle is limited, and a viewing distance islimited. Since the 3D viewing angle is generally less than 16°, it isimpossible to view 3D images clearly.

Therefore, a development of a 2D and 3D image display device capable ofdisplaying 2D and 3D images and achieving a simple structure is urgentlyneeded in the industry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome theabove-described problems encountered in the conventional art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a LCD devicehaving a thin polarizing film and a thin phase retardation film capableof displaying a 2D image and a 3D image with a simple structure in sucha manner that polarizing films having different polarizing directionsare disposed on the same plane, and a simple structure is achieved usinga thin phase retardation film.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a LCD devicehaving a thin phase retardation film that is achieved using a thin filmpolarizing film formed by accurately processing a thin aluminum film, apolarizing film of a nano imprint lithography method that uses polymer,and a polarizing film and a liquid crystal material that form apolarizing nano material thin film by uniformly coating a polarizingnano material (TCF).

To achieve the above objects, in a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) devicein which a first transparent substrate is disposed at a front surface ofa backlight unit, and a first polarizing region having a polarizingdirection angle of 0° or 45° and a second polarizing region having apolarizing direction angle of 90° or 135° are formed on a surface of thefirst transparent substrate in an orthogonal structure on the sameplane, and a liquid crystal layer is disposed between a first alignmentfilm and a second alignment film, and a second transparent electrode anda color filter are disposed at a front surface of the second alignmentfilm, there is provided a LCD device having a thin polarizing film and atin phase retardation film characterized in that a first polarizingregion having a polarizing direction of 0° or 45° and a secondpolarizing region having a polarizing direction of 90° or 135° formed ona surface of the first transparent substrate are orthogonal from eachother and are aligned on the same plane, and a first insulation layer isstacked on the front surfaces of the first polarizing region and thesecond polarizing region, and next to that, the first transparentelectrode and a first alignment film are disposed at a front surface ofthe first insulation layer, and a liquid crystal later filled withliquid crystal is aligned between the first and second alignment films,and a second transparent electrode, a color filter and a secondinsulation layer are sequentially disposed at a front surface of thesecond alignment film, and a third polarizing region and a fourthpolarizing region are formed on the same plane in a structure in whichthe first polarizing region and the second polarizing region areorthogonal in their polarizing directions at 90°, and next to that thesecond transparent substrate is disposed, and a non-reflection coatinglayer is disposed at the front most surface.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, a polarizing filmaccording to the present invention is integrally formed in a firstpolarizing region and a second polarizing region on a surface of a firsttransparent substrate of a conventional LCD panel. A liquid crystallayer is disposed between a third polarizing region and a fourthpolarizing region integrally formed at a back surface of the secondtransparent substrate.

Namely, the first polarizing region and the second polarizing region arealternately formed at a surface of the first transparent substrate, andthe third polarizing region and the fourth polarizing region arealternately formed at a back surface of the second transparentsubstrate, and the polarizing region formed at a portion correspondingto the first transparent substrate and the second transparent substrateare arranged to have different polarizing directions.

Here, the first polarizing region has a polarizing direction of 0° or45°, and the third polarizing region has a polarizing direction of 90°or 135°. The polarizing direction between the first polarizing regionand the third polarizing region has an orthogonal angle of 90°. Inaddition, the polarizing direction between the second polarizing regionand the fourth polarizing region has an orthogonal angle of 90°.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, a third polarizingfilm is formed of a straight line polarizing film on the whole frontsurfaces of the backlight unit. A second 1/2 phase retardation film anda transparent unit are aligned at a surface of the first transparentsubstrate with a certain width and distance. Next, a first insulationlayer is disposed. A first transparent electrode and a first alignmentfilm are sequentially aligned at a front surface of the same. Inaddition, a liquid crystal layer, a second alignment film, a secondtransparent electrode, a color filter and a second insulation layer aresequentially aligned. A transparent substrate integrally formed of athird polarizing region and a fourth polarizing region are aligned at afront surface of the same. A non-reflection coating layer is disposed ata front most surface.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, a 1/4 phaseretardation film is disposed for converting an incident light into acircular polarizing light in the structure of the second embodiment ofthe present invention.

In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the wholeconstruction is similar with the first embodiment of the presentinvention. The structure of the polarizing region is aligned in alattice shape, and a 1/4 phase retardation film is further provided.

In the fifth embodiment of the present invention, the whole constructionis similar with the third embodiment of the present invention. Here, thestructure of the phase retardation film and the structure of thepolarizing region are aligned in a lattice shape.

In the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the polarizing regionis formed of a conductive metal differently from the structure of thefourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, sincethe polarizing film function and the electrode function are concurrentlyprovided, two transparent electrodes and two insulation layers are notneeded before and after the liquid crystal layer differently from thefourth embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, the fabricationprocess of the LCD device can be decreased, and the fabrication cost isalso decreased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become better understood with reference tothe accompanying drawings which are given only by way of illustrationand thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein;

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a construction of a conventional 3Ddisplay;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is view illustrating a LCD device having a thin polarizing filmand a thin phase retardation film according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a detailed view illustrating a polarizing region and analignment direction used in the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a LCD device having a thin polarizing filmand a thin phase retardation film according to a second embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a LCD device having a thin polarizing filmand a thin phase retardation film according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a LCD device having a thin polarizingfilm and a thin phase retardation film according to a fourth embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a structure of a polarizing film of FIG.10;

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating a LCD device having a thin polarizingfilm and a thin phase retardation film according to a fifth embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating a LCD device having a thin polarizingfilm and a thin phase retardation film according to a sixth embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a structure of a conductive polarizingfilm of FIG. 14; and

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 is view illustrating a LCD device having a thin polarizing filmand a thin phase retardation film according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention, FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 isa detailed view illustrating a polarizing region and an alignmentdirection used in the present invention, FIG. 6 is a view illustrating aLCD device having a thin polarizing film and a thin phase retardationfilm according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7is a cross sectional view of FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a LCDdevice having a thin polarizing film and a thin phase retardation filmaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 isa cross sectional view of FIG. 8.

In addition, FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a LCD device having a thinpolarizing film and a thin phase retardation film according to a fourthembodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11 is a view illustrating astructure of a polarizing film of FIG. 10, FIG. 12 is a viewillustrating a LCD device having a thin polarizing film and a thin phaseretardation film according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention, FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 12, FIG. 14 is aview illustrating a LCD device having a thin polarizing film and a thinphase retardation film according to a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention, FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a structure of a conductivepolarizing film of FIG. 14, and FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view ofFIG. 14.

First Embodiment

The 2D and 3D LCD device according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. Polarizingregions are given reference numerals of 30, 31, 33, 34, 60, 61, 80 and81 in order to recognize the regions from a polarizing film because thepolarizing directions are orthogonal at 90° in a lattice shape on oneplane.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in the liquid crystal device capable ofdisplaying a 2D image and a 3D image according to the first embodimentof the present invention, a first polarizing region 30 having apolarizing direction of 0° or 45° formed on a plane of the firsttransparent substrate aligned on a front surface of the backlight unit 2and a second polarizing region 31 that has a polarizing direction of 90°or 135° are aligned in an orthogonal structure. A first insulation layer32 is aligned at a front surface of the first polarizing region 30 andthe second polarizing region 31. A first transparent electrode 5 and afirst alignment film 6 are disposed at the front surface of the same. Aliquid crystal layer 10 filled with a liquid crystal is disposed betweenthe first alignment film 6 and the second alignment film 7. Here, thealignment directions of the first alignment film 6 and the secondalignment film 7 may be different based on the kinds of liquid crystal.

As shown in FIG. 5, it is preferred that the alignment directions of thefirst alignment film 6 and the second alignment film 7 are vertical atthe portions corresponding to the first polarizing region 30 and thesecond polarizing region 31, but the alignments may be in the samedirection depending of the kinds of the liquid crystal. Whenelectromagnetic field is applied to the liquid crystal layer 10, it ismoved based on the characteristic of the liquid crystal. Therefore, itis needed to retard transmitting light.

Next, a second transparent electrode 8 connected to a thin filmtransistor (TFT), a color filter 9 and a second insulation layer 35 aredisposed at a front surface of the second alignment film 7. A thirdpolarizing region 33 and a fourth polarizing region 34 are integrallyformed at the next front surface in a structure that the polarizingdirection is orthogonal at 900 with respect to the first polarizingregion 30 and the second polarizing region 31. A non-reflection coatinglayer 24 is disposed at the front most side.

In the conventional liquid crystal display panel, the polarizing filmsbefore and after the liquid crystal layer have the same polarizingdirection, and the polarizing directions have 90° difference. In thisembodiment of the present invention, the polarizing films are formedlike a structure that fine stripes are orthogonal from each other withthe polarizing directions being 90° fine stripes are orthogonal on oneplane. Namely, the first polarizing region 30 and the second polarizingregion 31 are on the front surface of the first transparent substrate 4,and the third polarizing region 33 and the fourth polarizing region 34are integrally formed at the back side of the second transparentsubstrate 11. The liquid crystal layer 10 is disposed therebetween.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first polarizing region 30 and the secondpolarizing region 31 are alternately formed on the front surface of thefirst transparent substrate 4. The third polarizing region 33 and thefourth polarizing region 34 are alternately formed on the backside ofthe second transparent substrate 11. The polarizing regions formed atthe portions corresponding to the first transparent substrate 4 and thesecond transparent substrate 11 have different polarizing directions.

Here, the first polarizing region 30 has a polarizing direction of 0° or45°, and the third polarizing region 33 has a polarizing direction of90° or 135°. The polarizing direction is orthogonal at 90° between thefirst polarizing region 30 and the third polarizing region 33. Thepolarizing direction is orthogonal at 90° between the second polarizingregion 31 and the fourth polarizing region 34.

The operation of the LCD device according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention will be described. First, when light transmits thefirst polarizing region 30 formed at the front surface of the firsttransparent substrate 40 through the backlight unit 2, the light becomesa straight line polarizing light polarized at 0° or 45°. Since the lightbecomes a straight line polarizing state having 90° rotated polarizingdirection after the light transmitted the liquid crystal layer 10, sothat a viewer can view the image transmitted the third polarizing region33 having a polarizing direction of 90° or 135°.

When the light from the backlight unit 2 transmits the second polarizingregion 31 formed at the front surface of the first transparent substrate4, the light is changed to a straight line polarizing light polarized atan angle of 90° or 135° and is changed to a 90° rotated straight linepolarizing light while transmitting the liquid crystal layer 10.Therefore, as the light transmits the fourth polarizing region 34 havinga polarizing direction of 0° or 45°, the viewer can view the images.

Therefore, the first polarizing region 30 and the third polarizingregion 33 are matched with the pitches of the pixels at the liquidcrystal display panel, and the right eye image is displayed at the oddnumber row at the LCD panel, and the left eye image is displayed on theeven number row, so that the right eye image transmits the fourthpolarizing region 34, and the left eye image transmits polarizingglasses 25, so that the viewer can see a 3D image.

Second Embodiment

The 2D and 3D liquid crystal display device according to the secondembodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a viewof the second embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of FIG.6.

As shown in FIG. 6, a part of the LCD device capable of displaying 2Dand 3D images according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention is changed as compared with the first embodiment of thepresent invention. The above changes will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the LCD device capable of displaying 2D and 3Dimages according to the second embodiment of the present invention, athird polarizing film 52 formed of straight line polarizing films on itsentire surface is disposed at the front surface of the backlight unit 2.The second 1/2 phase retardation film 50 and the transparent unit 51 aredisposed at the front surface of the first transparent substrate 4 witha certain width and distance. Next, the first insulation layer 32 isdisposed, and the first transparent electrode 5 and the first alignmentfilm 6 are formed at the front surface of the same. A liquid crystallayer 10 filled with liquid crystal is disposed between the firstalignment 6 and the second alignment film 7. When an electromagneticfield is applied to the liquid crystal layer 10, it is moved based onthe characteristic of the liquid crystal, so that it is possible toretard the transmitting light.

Next, the second transparent electrode 8, the color filter 9 and thesecond insulation layer 35 are sequentially disposed at the frontsurface of the second alignment film 7. The second transparent substrate11 integrally formed of the third polarizing region 33 and the fourthpolarizing region 34 is disposed at the next front surface. Anon-reflection coating layer 24 is disposed at the front most surface.

In the conventional LCD panel, the polarizing films before and after theliquid crystal have the same polarizing directions with 90° differencesin their polarizing directions. In the first embodiment of the presentinvention, new polarizing films are alternately orthogonal before andafter the liquid crystal in fine stripe shapes having differentpolarizing directions of 90° at one plane. In the second embodiment ofthe present invention, the second 1/2 phase retardation film 50, theliquid crystal layer 10, the third polarizing region 33 and the fourthpolarizing region 34 are sequentially engaged, and the polarizing filmsare integral with the above structure.

The operation according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention will be described. When light from the backlight unit 2 ischanged to straight line polarizing light having a 90° polarizingdirection while transmitting the third polarizing film 52 formed ofstraight line polarizing films. Next, the light transmitted thetransparent unit 51 disposed at the front surface of the firsttransparent substrate 4 transmits the liquid crystal layer 10 and ischanged to straight line polarizing light having a 90° rotatedpolarizing direction. The light transmits the fourth polarizing region34 having a 0° or 45° polarizing direction, so that the viewer can viewthe image.

In addition, the light that transmitted the third polarizing film 52 andpolarized at 90° or 135° transmits the second 1/2 phase retardation film50 and has a 180° difference between incident light and the phase, sothat the light is changed to straight line polarizing light having a 90°rotated polarizing direction, and the polarizing direction becomes 0°.The light becomes straight line polarizing light having a 90° rotatedpolarizing direction while transmitting the liquid crystal layer 10.Therefore, as the light transmits the third polarizing region 33 havinga 90° or 135° polarizing direction, the viewer can view the image.

In the LCD panel, the transparent unit 51 and the fourth polarizingregion 31 are matched with the pitches of the pixels, and the second 1/2phase retardation film 50 and the third polarizing region 33 are matchedwith the pitches of the pixels. In the LCD panel, the right eye image isdisplayed at the odd number row, and the left eye image is displayed atthe even number row. The right eye image transmits the fourth polarizingregion 34, and the left eye image transmits the third polarizing region33. Therefore, the viewer can view the 3D image using the polarizingglasses 25.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 8 is a view of the third embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, theconstruction of the third embodiment of the present invention is similarwith the second embodiment of the present invention except for a 1/4phase retardation film 68 that is additionally provided in thisembodiment. In more detail, the light from the backlight unit 2 ischanged to straight line polarizing light having 90° or 135° polarizingdirection while transmitting the third polarizing film 52 formed ofstraight line polarizing films.

The light transmitted the transparent unit 51 disposed at the frontsurface of the first transparent substrate 4 is changed to straight linepolarizing light having a 90° rotated polarizing direction whiletransmitting the liquid crystal layer 10. Thereafter, the lighttransmits the fourth polarizing region 34 having a 0° or 45° polarizingdirection. Next, the polarized light transmits the 1/4 phase retardationfilm 68 and becomes a circular polarizing light. The viewer can view theimage using the right eye polarizing glasses 72 of the circularpolarizing glasses 70.

The light transmitted the third polarizing film 52 and polarized instraight line with 90° or 135° has a 180° angle difference between theincident light and the phase, so that the light is changed to thestraight line light having a 90° rotated polarizing direction. The lightis changed to have a straight line polarizing light state having a 90°rotated polarizing direction, while transmitting the liquid crystallayer 10. The light transmits the third polarizing region 33 having a90° or 135° polarizing direction and then transmits the 1/4 phaseretardation film 68 and becomes a circular polarizing state. Therefore,the viewer can view the image using the left eye circular polarizingglasses 71 of the circular polarizing glasses 70.

The transparent unit 51 and the fourth polarizing region 34 are matchedwith the pitches of the pixels at the LCD panel, and the second 1/2phase retardation film 50 and the third polarizing region 33 are matchedwith the pitches of the pixels. The right eye image is displayed on theodd number row at the LCD panel, and the left eye image is displayed onthe even number row, so that the right eye image transmits the fourthpolarizing region 34, and the left eye image transmits the thirdpolarizing region 33. Therefore, the viewer can view the 3D images usingthe circular polarizing glasses 70. In the present invention, the viewercan view the 3D images using the circular polarizing glasses 70 even ifthe viewer's head is tilted in the left or right direction.

Fourth Embodiment

FIGS. 10 and 11 shows the fourth embodiment of the present invention.The basic construction is similar with the construction of the firstembodiment of the present invention. The first, second, third and fourthpolarizing regions are formed in a lattice structure like the fifth,sixth, seventh, and eighth polarizing regions. In this embodiment of thepresent invention, a 1/4 phase retardation film 68 is further disposed.The same construction as the first embodiment will be omitted. Namely,only the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth polarizing regions and the 1/4phase retardation film 68 will be described.

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an optical characteristic of thepolarizing region. The light outputted from the backlight transmits thefifth polarizing region 60 and is changed to a 45° rotated straight linelight. When the light reaches at the seventh polarizing region 80, thelight does not transmit the seventh polarizing region 80. In addition,the light transmitted the sixth polarizing region 61 is changed to a135° rotated straight line light. When the light reaches at the eighthpolarizing region 81, the light does not transmit the same.

When the above construction and principle are adapted in theconstruction of FIG. 10, the first transparent electrode 5 and thesecond transparent electrode 8 are disposed between the sixth polarizingregion 61 and the eighth polarizing region 81. The liquid crystal layer10 reacts with respect to electromagnetic field applied thereto forthereby retarding light, so that the viewer can view the 3D images.Here, the fifth polarizing region 60, the sixth polarizing region 61,the seventh polarizing region 80, and the eighth polarizing region 81have polarizing direction angle difference of 90° at the correspondingportions. In addition, the 1/4 phase retardation film 68 is additionallyprovided. In this case, the straight line polarizing light 25 of thefirst embodiment of the present invention is substituted with thecircular polarizing glasses 70. Therefore, the viewer can view the 3Dimages even when the viewer's head is tilted in the left or rightdirection.

Fifth Embodiment

The fifth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 12. FIG.13 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 12. The construction is basicallysimilar with the third embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the 1/2 phase retardation film and the transparent unit andthe polarizing regions are formed in a lattice shape.

As shown in FIG. 12, the light from the backlight unit 2 transmits thethird polarizing film 52 formed of straight line polarizing films and ischanged to straight line polarizing light having 90° or 135° polarizingdirections.

Next, the light transmitted the transparent unit 91 disposed at thefront surface of the first transparent substrate 4 transmits the liquidcrystal layer 10 and is changed to straight line polarizing light having90° rotated polarizing direction. The light transmits the eighthpolarizing region 81 having a polarizing direction of 0° or 45°. Thepolarized light transmits the 1/4 phase retardation film 68 and ischanged to a circular polarizing state. Therefore, the viewer can seethe image through the right circular polarizing glasses 72 of thecircular polarizing light glasses 70.

In addition, the light polarized at an angle of 90° or 135° andtransmitted the third polarizing film 52 transmits the third 1/2 phaseretardation film 90 and has 180° difference between the incident lightand the phase. Therefore, the light is changed into straight linepolarizing light having a 90° rotated polarizing direction. This lighttransmits the liquid crystal layer 10 and is changed to straight linepolarizing light having a 90° rotated polarizing direction. Therefore,the light can be changed to circular polarizing light while transmittingthe seventh polarizing region 80 having a 135° polarizing direction andthe 1/4 phase retardation film 68. Therefore, the viewer can view theimages using the left eye circular polarizing glasses 71 of the circularpolarizing light glasses 70.

Therefore, in the LCD panel, the transparent unit 91 and the eighthpolarizing region 81 are matched with the pitches of the pixels, and thethird 1/2 phase retardation film 90 and the seventh polarizing region 80are matched with the pitches of the pixels. The right eye image isdisplayed at the portions of the transparent unit 91 and the eighthpolarizing region 81 in the LCD panel, and the left eye image isdisplayed at the portions of the third 1/2 phase retardation film 90 andthe seventh polarizing region 80. The right eye image transmits theeighth polarizing region 81, and the left eye image transmits theseventh polarizing region 80. Therefore, the viewer can view the 3Dimages using the circular polarizing light glasses 70. In addition, evenwhen the viewer's head is tilted in the left or right direction, it ispossible to view the 3D images using the circular polarizing lightglasses 70.

Sixth Embodiment

The construction of the six embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 14.

In the sixth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 14,the fifth polarizing region 60, the seventh polarizing region 80, andthe eighth polarizing region 81 are all formed of a conductive metal.Here, the conductive metal represents an electrically conductive metal.Preferably, the conductive metal is aluminum. In the sixth embodiment ofthe present invention, since a conductive polarizing film is used, twotransparent electrodes and two insulation layers are not needed beforeand after the liquid crystal layer.

The sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail. FIG. 14 is a view illustrating a structure of the presentinvention, and FIG. 15 is a view illustrating an optical characteristicwhen the polarizing region is formed of a conductive metal, and FIG. 16is a cross sectional view of FIG. 14.

The construction that the conductive metal, a major feature of the sixthembodiment of the present invention, is used for the polarizing regionwill be described.

As shown in FIG. 15, the polarizing regions are divided into a sub pixelshape of the display like the first conductive polarizing film 100 andthe second conductive polarizing film 101. In addition, the thirdconductive polarizing film 110 and the fourth conductive polarizing film111 are formed of common electrodes. Here, the polarizing directions ofthe third conductive polarizing film 10 and the fourth conductivepolarizing film 111 are orthogonal at 90°, which correspond to the firstconductive polarizing film 100 and the second conductive polarizing film101.

When the above principle is adapted to the embodiment of FIG. 14, thefirst conductive polarizing film 100 and the second conductivepolarizing film 101 formed on the plane of the first transparentsubstrate 4 disposed at a front surface of the backlight unit 2 areorthogonal with a 90° polarizing direction difference for therebyachieving a polarizing film function and a conventional transparentelectrode function. Next to that, the first alignment film 6 isdisposed, and the liquid crystal layer 10 filled with liquid crystal isdisposed between the first alignment film 6 and the second alignmentfilm 7. Here, the aligning directions of the first and second alignmentfilms 6 and 7 may be changed depending on the kinds of the liquidcrystal used. When an electromagnetic field is applied to the conductivepolarizing film, the liquid crystal layer 10 is moved based on thecharacteristic of the liquid crystal for thereby retarding thetransmitting light.

Next, the third conductive polarizing film 110 and the fourth conductivepolarizing film 111 are disposed at the front surface of the secondalignment film 7 with both polarizing film function and transparentelectrode function. Next to that, the color filter 9 and the secondtransparent substrate 11 are disposed. Next, the 1/4 phase retardationfilm 68 is disposed, and the non-reflection coating layer 24 is disposedat the front most surface.

In this embodiment of the present invention, when the thin polarizingfilm is formed using a conductive metal, since there are provided bothpolarizing film function and electrode function, two transparentelectrodes and two insulation layers are not needed before and after theliquid crystal layer as compared to the conventional LCD device, so thatthe fabrication process of the LCD device is simplified, and thefabrication unit cost is decreased.

As described above, in the present invention, it is possible toimplement an optical structure capable of viewing 2D and 3D imageswithout providing additional parts for 2D and 3D images.

In the optical structure of the present invention, polarizing films aredisposed very near the LCD device, so that a viewing angle is notlimited in upper and lower directions wherein the limited viewing anglehas been a big problem in the conventional art. In addition, a viewingdistance is not limited in forward and backward directions. Multiplepeople can concurrently view 3D images irrespective of the viewing angleor distance.

In addition, the fabrication process of the LCD device can be decreased,and the fabrication cost of the 2D and 3D LCD device can be decreased.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, itshould also be understood that the above-described examples are notlimited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unlessotherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within itsspirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore allchanges and modifications that fall within the meets and bounds of theclaims, or equivalences of such meets and bounds are therefore intendedto be embraced by the appended claims.

1. A liquid crystal display (LCD) device having a thin polarizing plateand a phase retardation plate, wherein a backlight unit is disposed, anda third polarizing plate entirely formed of a straight polarizing plateis disposed at a front surface of the backlight unit, wherein a second1/2 phase retardation plate and a transparent unit are arranged at afront surface of the first transparent substrate, and a first insulationlayer is disposed at the front surfaces of the second 1/2 phaseretardation plate and the transparent unit, wherein a first transparentelectrode and a first alignment film are sequentially disposed at afront surface of the first insulation layer, and a liquid crystal layeris disposed between the first alignment film and the second alignmentfilm, wherein a second transparent electrode, a color filter and asecond insulation layer are sequentially disposed at a front surface ofthe second alignment film, wherein a third polarizing region, a fourthpolarizing region and a second transparent substrate are sequentiallydisposed at a front surface of the second insulation layer, and anon-reflection coating layer is disposed at the front-most surface ofthe liquid crystal display (LCD) device, wherein the second 1/2 phaseretardation plate and the transparent unit are formed integrally witheach other on the same plane in a chessboard shape, wherein the thirdpolarizing region and the fourth polarizing region are formed integrallywith each other on the same plane in a chessboard shape, and wherein a1/4 phase retardation plate is disposed at a front surface of the secondtransparent substrate so as to produce circularly-polarized light.